Saturday, 5 January 2013

Today my new Kitchenaid got its first outing - very exciting! Theo had to work today so I thought I'd potter about and make some cupcakes. It was really nice to use an electric mixer rather than do it by hand, and it seemed to make the whole process a bit tidier too. Sometimes it creates so much mess! I just love the way cupcakes look, they're so pretty.

And finally, here is a gratuitous picture of one of my lovely kittens too. He is 18 months old, but he's enormous (6kg - and still growing!). He still behaves like a kitten though. Happy weekend to you all, hope you're having fun.

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

I am an avid follower of Gertie's new blog for better sewing - she makes gorgeous retro clothes that fit really well and generally look amazing. She also quite recently published a book with really lovely patterns, including one for an incredible wiggle dress which I fell completely in love with and couldn't resist buying the book! I need to dress quite smartly for work, but I also find that shop-bought dresses tend not to fit me - they are often tight over the hips and loose at the waist. Not a good look! So I thought I'd make one instead, and I'm really happy with how it has turned out.

I did a pattern making course a few years ago and have become obsessed with fit! So I can't help but make quite a few toiles before I'm happy to start on the final garment. Doing that also gives me confidence to buy more expensive fabric which will generally give a much nicer finish than something synthetic. I went to Soho in London to buy this fabric and bought a wool/cashmere tweed to use, which has such richness of colour which I unfortunately wasn't able to capture in these photos. The weave of the fabric means that it sometimes appears different colours in different lights. It's a really deep forest green - I love it! I was quite cautious when I bought it, so I made sure I had a little extra just in case. In the end, there was enough left over for me to also make a pencil skirt. I've worn both the dress and the skirt endlessly, so it was definitely a good investment to splash out a bit on the fabric. What have your experiences been with using better quality fabrics?

Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Just wanted to share some pics of a recent camping holiday in Wales. We stayed in a yurt which was amazing! It had a bath in it which had hot running water. This turned out to be necessary since it was November and even snowed at one point. There was also a hot outdoor shower which I braved even though it was so cold outside! We are usually quite hardy campers and spend many nights a year under canvas, but it was nice to enjoy a little bit of luxury. The yurt was near Abergavenny in Wales, which is a stunning place. Do you have any favourite camping spots?

We also spotted this castle from the road - it's Raglan Castle - and it looked gorgeous so we stopped to have a look around.

One day we'd like to build a little woodland retreat somewhere remote so that we can escape from the hustle and bustle of life in a city.